In Another Life
by i.heart.the.doctor
Summary: The Doctor, Amy and Rory land somewhere rather normal for once, they weren't expecting to find what they did. Who is the little boy that took a shining to the Doctor? Maybe the Doctor can finally have some real closure... 10.5/Rose.. oneshot


**A/N: Okay so I'm writing from a different fandom this time =s it's not the best but it's a story I'd of loved to see. This hasn't been beta's because, as always, i'm impatient. That and i don't really know fic people from the Doctor Who fandom =/ Any ways, i hope you enjoy it!**

"Doctor?"

"What is it Amy?"

"What's going on?"

"Oh what did you do this time?"

"I didn't do anything!"

"Rory!" the Doctor yelled.

"It wasn't me either." came Rory's reply from the other side of the TARDIS console.

"Well someone has to of done something, she isn't meant to behave like this."

"Maybe it was something you did." Amy responded.

"Don't be silly Amy, of course it wasn't me." the Doctor said dismissively as he began dashing around the console trying to see what was causing the problem.

The TARDIS was shaking and jerking all over the place, more so than usual.

"Rory, try that lever," he demanded while pointing at the piece of machinery in front of Rory.

"Why, what'll it do?"

"No idea, just give it a try." Rory pulled the lever and the whole TARDIS shuddered to a stop.

"Did we fix it?" asked Rory

"Yes," replied the Doctor before everything suddenly went dark, "No."

"What happened?" questioned Amy with panic lacing her tone.

"It died." the Doctor replied clearly shocked; staring at the console that was usually so lit up and lively looking but just sat there dark and quiet.

"How can it of died?"

"I don't know, I feel like I should know, I just don't."

"Well can you fix it?"

"I don't know!" he yelled back.

"Well figure something out then! I don't want to be stuck here! Where the hell are we anyway?"

While Amy and the Doctor had been arguing Rory had made his way to the TARDIS doors.

"Only one way to check right?" reasoned Rory.

"Great idea, lets see where we are." grinned the Doctor.

"Is it safe? You know to go outside, we don't even know what's out there." Rory rambled on as the Doctor walked towards the doors and threw them open.

The Doctor took a look outside them threw himself back indoors and slammed the door shut behind him.

"Don't go out there." he warned.

"Why what's out there?" Amy's curiosity was beginning to get the better of her.

"Brummies."

"What? Brummies? What are they? What planet are they from, do they have purple skin, 3 eyes, something like that?" she listed off her questions. "Are they hideous?" she was beginning to sound excited.

"Wait, Brummies? Doctor are we in Birmingham?" asked Rory, clearly confused.

"Yes, it's not safe; stay in here and we'll figure something out." he muttered as he dashed back to the console and began fiddling with all the levers and buttons he could find out of desperation.

"It can't be so bad, it's just Birmingham." reasoned Amy.

"Amy have you ever been to Birmingham?" the Doctor asked.

"I've passed through it a few times but that's it."

"Then you do not know what is wrong with Birmingham."

"Have you been to Birmingham?" she replied cockily.

"Erm, no. No I haven't but they gave us Ozzy Osbourne and Duran Duran, clearly it's not a nice place to be."

"Oh stop being such an idiot, what year are we in anyway?"

The Doctor took another peek outside. "Looks like 2013 to me."

"So we're basically home? Just a few miles off?"

"I guess we are."

"Great, come on Rory, I want to do some shopping while we're here." Amy decided as she made her way towards the Doctor and the doors.

"Shopping? The TARDIS is broken and you want to go shopping?" the Doctor asked, clearly baffled.

"Yes." she said as she pushed past him and stepped onto the busy streets of Birmingham.

The Doctor and Rory reluctantly followed Amy towards the large bronze bull that stood outside the Bullring shopping centre. The Doctor's eyes were nervously looking around, constantly on the look out for a rogue brummie. He flinched as a teenager in a tracksuit walked past.

"Wha' you lookin' at?" the youth questioned throwing the Doctor a dirty look.

"Not you, definitely not you." the Doctor rushed out as he began to walk faster, making sure to keep up with the others.

"Okay Amy, where to?" the Doctor asked enthusiastically.

"Okay well I was thinking New Look, then River Island, then maybe Forever 21, oh and I want to pop to Anne Summers while we're here. Then maybe we could have some lunch at Jamie's Italian, or Burger King, you know, whichever" Rory's head shot up at the mention of Anne Summers and Amy shot him a wink.

"Wait isn't Anne Summers that…" he stopped at as he noticed the smirk on Amy's face and the excited look on Rory's "I do not need to know any of this. No. Just no." the Doctor's face twisted in disgust.

"Well why don't you have a wonder on your own, there's plenty of shops here, there must be something that could interest you. Oh I know, how about The Entertainer, we all know how much of a big kid you are really." Amy teased.

"I am not a big kid." the Doctor argued back stubbornly.

As soon as Amy and Rory disappeared he made his way to The Entertainer while still muttering about how he wasn't a child. However after an hour had past and he was still in the shop he realised that perhaps he was just a big kid after all. He was going from shelf to shelf pressing whatever buttons he could whenever he saw the little stickers saying 'try me'. However as he was making his way through the Star Wars toys he began to notice he'd pick up a mini tag-along. The Doctor continued to make his way to the next section where the toy trains were kept. He watched out of the corner of his eye as the small child moved with him.

"Hello," the Doctor said hesitantly.

"Hi," the child said in reply. The child was a little boy, he looked to be about 4 years old. He had deep brown eyes and messy brown hair.

"I'm the Doctor what's your name?"

"Liam," he replied. Liam was watching the Doctor closely with curious eyes. "I like your neck thingie."

"That's because you have excellent taste Liam, if only everyone's taste was as good as yours hey?"

"My mummy made me wear one of those at Christmas, she said I was her smart little man. Nanny just kept kissing my cheek though, it was slobbery and gross."

"Well the ladies in your life sound like they appreciate good neckwear which is always a good thing."

"You need a haircut. But that's okay Nanny says my daddy needs a haircut too."

"My hair is just fine thank you very much," the Doctor responded defensively.

"No you definitely need a haircut." Stated Amy as she walked down the isle towards them.

"I thought you were off shopping."

"Yeah we finished, you've been in here a while."

"Have I? I didn't even realise. Look I made a new friend. Amy, this is Liam, he likes my bow tie." the Doctor announced with a smug smile on his face. "And Liam, this is Amy and that man there following her like a puppy is Rory."

"I do not follow her.."

"Be quiet Rory" Amy interrupted. "Hello Liam, aren't you a handsome young man." she greeted while ruffling his hair.

"Hi, you have pretty hair." he told her shyly.

"He's adorable," she gushed towards the Doctor, "can we keep him?"

"I let you keep Rory, he's enough." she pouted and folded her arms in response.

"I'm really feeling the love today." Rory mumbled sarcastically.

"I'm sorry," Amy apologised while giving him a gentle kiss on the cheek.

"Where are his parents anyway?" Rory asked.

"I don't actually know." the Doctor trailed off.

"Liam do you now where mummy or daddy are?" Amy asked.

"We were shopping, but I letted go of mummy's hand. I was scareded but I saw the Doctor so I came to stand with him." The Doctor was confused as to why the child felt he was the safe place to come, but he was relieved that Liam hadn't gone to someone more dangerous.

"Okay Liam I say we go find mummy and daddy yeah?" the Doctor offered the boy cheerfully.

"Okay, Mummy and daddy will be worried about me by now. I've had fun with you but I miss them now." he stated very maturely. The Doctor was very impressed with the boys maturity, most children would have been a sobbing wet mess if it had been them, he could only imagine the state his parents must be in.

"We should go to the help desk I saw a floor up, they should be able to help us." Rory offered.

As they all made their way towards the help desk Liam continued to chatter away. But one question managed to shock even the Doctor.

"Are you an alien?" He asked innocently.

"Why would you ask that?" the Doctor replied.

"I know aliens be real, mummy and daddy talk about them lots. So are you an alien?"

"Yes, I'm an alien, but it's a secret so you have to keep it quiet." Liam nodded quickly, promising not to tell everyone. "Why do mummy and daddy talk about aliens?" It could have been that his parents simply remembered the countless attacks against earth that he'd defended it against with the help of many of his previous companions. But something compelled him to ask Liam, he felt there was something deeper going on.

"It's their job." he stated matter of factly.

"Look those must be his parents." Amy pointed out as they neared the desk. It was a frantic looking couple that had their backs turned towards them, but there was something hauntingly familiar about them.

"Mummy! Daddy!" Yelled Liam as he sprinted towards them. As they turned round the Doctor froze. There was no way he couldn't know those faces. That blonde hair, those brown eyes he'd stared into countless times; that face that he fought hard to block from his mind so it wouldn't take up his every thought. His face, so familiar, the face he'd seen every time he'd looked into a mirror; a past life almost, just stood there.

"Oh my god Liam!" she yelled as she ran forwards and met her son, lifting him in the air in a hug. "Where were you? we have been worried sick!"

"I thought I losted you mummy, but then I found…"

"Hi, sorry about that, he just came up to me and started talking away." the Doctor interrupted. "Such an amazing little boy, so smart."

"Get's that from me of course." the other man boasted. "You're my little genius aren't you?" he asked proudly as he tickled Liam's belly.

"Stop it daddy, haha stop it!" Liam squirmed in his mother's arms till she put him down.

"Sorry, how rude of me, I'm John Tyler" offered the man.

"Rose," stated the woman.

"I'm Amy and this is my husband Rory," Piped up Amy from behind him.

The Doctor realised he had to leave quick, before they found out who he was. He looked at his watch exaggeratedly.

"I'm so sorry, but we have to dash off, it was great to meet you, especially you Liam, a real pleasure." he was already rushing off towards the exit, a confused Amy and Rory trailing behind.

"Bye bye Doctor!" yelled Liam from behind them. He shot a quick look towards them as he exited the building, seeing confusion and shock on Rose and the man that called him self John's faces. But he didn't stop, he made his way back to the TARDIS as fast as he could.

"What the hell was that about Doctor?" demanded Amy as she entered the TARDIS. "That was just plain old rude."

"I'd just need 5 minutes," the Doctor said softly as he left the console room. He went to her old room. It was the first time he'd been there since he'd lost her. Dust covered every surface. All the memories he fought hard to bury came rushing back to him, all the lives that had touched his. He remembered Donna Knoble; the most important woman in the universe. He remembered Martha Jones, so bright and brave. he remembered Sarah Jane Smith, still out there solving mysteries and fighting for good. He remembered Rose Tyler, he wept.

After his last regeneration he'd locked everything away, deep in the back of his mind. It was less painful that way. Those people had such an impact on his life. He couldn't picture it without them. But he had to, they'd all moved on, he had been alone again. He couldn't remember. He couldn't bare the pain. But now he wanted to. He wanted to remember them. He wanted to honour their memory and how they'd helped him grow, the things they taught him. He May have been old, but he still knew nothing, not really. He knew facts, so many facts, but if all you know are facts then really you know nothing. They taught him how to live. She had taught him how to love.

There was a gentle knock on the door and Amy peeked her head round.

"You okay?" she asked carefully.

"Yeah, I will be, just needed a moment you know."

"Do you want to talk about it?" she offered.

"Not yet, I just need time to remember myself first." He slowly got up and made his way back to the console room.

"Oh yes! We're still stuck, I completely forgot about that."

"Yep still stuck, so maybe you could do something about that." suggested Rory.

"Oh right, okay I just have to remember what to do first." he muttered.

The Doctor was rushing around the console hitting buttons and pulling levers trying to get a response out of the machine when there was a knock at the TARDIS door. The 3 of them stopped what they were doing immediately. Amy and Rory looked confused, why would someone be knocking the door? The Doctor however looked nervous. He knew exactly who would knock on that door. He hesitantly made his way over and opened it.

"Oh my god, it really is you." Rose whispered.

"Yeah, it's me." he replied.

"You changed,"

"I did." Rose continued to stare at him in shock while 'John' breezed past them towards the console and began fiddling with things.

"What are you doing?" Amy asked him. "Doctor what is he doing?"

"I'm fixing the TARDIS so you lot can go home." 'John' replied.

"Okay I'm getting really confused right now, can someone explain what's going on?" demanded Rory.

"Yeah, please explain because I'm kind of freaking out here." Agreed Amy.

"What happened to Donna?" asked Rose.

"Wait who is Donna?" Rory questioned.

"Okay everyone quiet!" Yelled the Doctor. "I guess I have some explaining to do."

"You think?" grumbled Amy.

"I met Rose in 2005, she was running away from some shop dummies that had gone a bit wild, as they do. She grabbed my hand and we ran together. She travelled with me, in here like you do. I looked different then though, my ears were pretty big and I had more lines on my face, but I was still me. Then one day I changed, I got younger, skinner, my hair got longer. Rose stayed with me, she stayed with the new face and we ran some more. But then Torchwood happened. Rose got trapped in a parallel universe, I never thought I'd see her again. That's when I met Martha Jones, I travelled with her for a while, but she left me. Then there was Donna Knoble. Time had been bringing us together, something big was coming. Turns out the Davros, creator of the Daleks, had built a reality bomb, the universes were collapsing, Rose was able to travel between them again. We all fought Davros. In the end he destroyed them." the Doctor looked towards 'John' who appeared to of almost finished what he was doing. "That's what I used to look like, before my regeneration, that was my face. See Donna had touched my hand that was bursting with regeneration energy, it's a long story, and a human, time lord meta-crisis occurred. A new me grew from the hand. It had the mind of a time lord but only one heart, it was part human. However at the same time, Donna also became part time lord. However Donna was only human, he brain couldn't handle it." He heard Rose gasp as tears filled her eyes.

"She didn't?"

"No, I had to wipe her mind, all of the travelling we did, all those lives she helped save had to be forgotten, if she were to remember she would burn up."

"So wait, she's like an ex and he's a clone?" Amy reasoned as she pointed from Rose to 'John'.

"I guess that's the simpler way of putting things."

"Does that mean we're in an alternate universe right now?" questioned Rory.

"Yeah I guess it does."

Just then the TARDIS lit up, 'John' had clearly fixed it.

"Okay all sorted now. Not a fan of the new theme, what was wrong with the old one?" he asked the Doctor.

"Needed a change, new face, new TARDIS, new me."

"It's never really a new you though is it Doctor? You will always be you." Rose stated placing her hand lightly over his. "I wondered what you'd be doing you know, at first it was all I thought about, but over time I thought about it less. I'm happy now Doctor, truly happy, it's time you were too." she kissed him softly on the cheek. She walked up to 'John' and took his hand.

"You pair keep him out of trouble." she jokingly warned Amy and Rory. Amy nodded in reply as Rory wrapped his arms around her.

"Goodbye Rose Tyler, you go off and have the greatest adventure there is."

"We will." she smiled.

"Yeah the greatest adventure will be wondering where his dinner is if we don't get back soon, no way I'm letting him eat Jackie's cooking." 'John' joked as he made his way towards the door, pulling Rose behind him.

"Goodbye Doctor, for real this time." Whispered Rose as she left. 'John' simply looked the Doctor in the eye and gave him a slight nod as he left. The doors shut behind them and the Doctor turned back to Amy and Rory.

"You clearly have a lot of explaining left to do." stated Amy "So I vote we go somewhere nice where we can do this, preferably in out own universe."

"Great idea Pond. I know the perfect place."

He did know the perfect place and he'd take them their and tell them everything, he was letting himself remember now, it'd hurt but he had Amy and Rory there to help him heal and grow even more. They deserved to know, they deserved to know it all, to know _him all._

**A/N: There you go lol. Hope you liked it and sorry for any mistakes. Also sorry if you read my other fics! I have no idea when i'll update Once More next, hit major writers block with that one! And i hope to update What The Hell soon, no idea how soon is soon though because i'm off on to visit America tomorrow! (can't wait!) Any way I hope you like it, even if my writing isn't perfect i hope you at least like the idea behind it lol.**

**Doc xx**


End file.
